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Daniels’ historical drama about a long-serving White House butler starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, last weekend opened with $24.6 million for the Weinstein Co.

With a cumulative total of $52.3 million, “The Butler” is headed for a domestic haul of $100 million. It has followed the release pattern of another movie about race and domestic service: the 2011 drama “The Help,” also released in August. The Weinstein Co. hopes that “The Butler” will similarly lead to Oscar nominations.

Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com, attributed the success of “The Butler” particularly to the marketing power of Winfrey and a savvy choice of a release date with little competition.

“This is a film that you wouldn’t want to open in June or July,” said Dergarabedian. “The release date that the Weinstein Co. picked absolutely paid off for them.”